Device and method for guiding a user to a communication position

Abstract

A portable electronic device that includes an antenna and at least one of a transmitter or a receiver connected to the antenna for transferring information between the portable electronic device and a corresponding device via the antenna. The corresponding device includes a visual indicator indicative of a location of an antenna of the corresponding device. The portable electronic device further includes an imaging device for obtaining an image of the visual indicator, an image analyzer for determining a location of the portable electronic device antenna relative to that of the corresponding device based on the image, a direction analyzer for determining a movement direction of the portable electronic device that would reduce an alignment offset between the antennas, and a directional indicator for indicating the movement direction to a user of the portable electronic device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to portable electronic devices and systems, and more particularly to a device and method for guiding a user to a communication position.DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART[0002]Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity technology designed for intuitive, simple and safe communication between electronic devices. NFC communication is enabled by bringing two NFC compatible devices within a few centimeters of one another or for the two devices to literally “touch” one another. Applications of NFC technology include contactless transactions such as payment and transit ticketing, simple and fast data transfers including calendar synchronization or electronic business cards and access to online digital content.[0003]NFC makes life easier for users—it's easier to get information, easier to pay for goods and services, easier to use public transport, and easier to share data between devices. As...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]According to one aspect of the invention, a portable electronic device is provided that includes an antenna and at least one of a transmitter or a receiver connected to the antenna for transferring information between the portable electronic device and a corresponding device via inductive coupling through the antenna, the corresponding device including a visual indicator (target mark) indicative of the location of the corresponding device's antenna. The portable electronic device further includes an imaging device for obtaining an image of the visual indicator, an image analyzer for determining a location of the portable electronic device antenna relative to that of the corresponding device based on the image, a direction analyzer for determining a movement direction of the portable electronic device that would reduce an alignment offset between the antennas, and a directional indicator for indicating the movement direction to a user of the portable electronic device.

Problems solved by technology

Due to their low RF operating frequencies, NFC devices, as well as other inductive-coupling based devices, require a long antenna to achieve proper resonance.

Conversely, when the antenna is embedded within a mobile phone or other portable device, it may not be so intuitive how the device should be positioned relative to the reader / writer as the typical user does not know where the NFC antenna is located in the device.

Such binary indications are generally satisfactory, but are not useful to a user if the user is having trouble finding the target mark due to unfamiliarity with the location of the antenna in the portable device.

Furthermore, none of these conventional techniques are very useful when the target device is a passive tag that does not transmit any RF signal.

Moreover, even in the case of a powered reader / writer the cues described above provide only an indication of how close the devices are but do not indicate how the portable device should be repositioned in order to improve the quality of the short-range link.

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